


ZADR Collection

by Torzoko



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M, One Shot, One Shot Collection, Other, They’re teens or adults in these, two idiots in love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-18 19:55:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29249142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Torzoko/pseuds/Torzoko
Summary: A one shot collection of ZADR or Zim/Dib.
Relationships: Dib/Zim (Invader Zim)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 14





	1. What I Enjoy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zim does something unexpected and gets an equally surprising response.

Zim was cackling, as he always did in the heat of battle. The clashing of metal could be heard echoing throughout the barren fields outside of town. Dib would've had more time to admire how peaceful it was out here, if it wasn't for the giant hunk of machinery that was haphazardly spewing acid at him. Another one of the irkens brilliant inventions made only for Dib's last moments.

The contraption had a screw pop out as Dib finally managed to give it a hard kick. Both Dib and the machine carrying Zim fell to the ground with a hiss. He could feel a sharp pain in his ankle, as if something was very wrong. Dib was winded by it, but it was worth it to see Zim's look of defeat as he scrambled off the lifeless metal and onto the cool grass below him.

"Ha! Get it through your head, Zim; Earth always wins!" There was a noticeable falter in his voice near the end, as he tried to move his ankle to stand.  
Zim was about to start his usual monologuing when, he too, faltered. The Irken instead creeped towards the human with an odd look, crouching down next to him. "Dib-worm, why are you holding your appendage that way?"

Dib sputtered, attempting to hide his sprained ankle but it only resulted in gritted teeth and a low hiss as the pain blossomed further.  
"Humans are so fragile! An Irken would never fall victim to anything like a hurt appendage." Zim boasted.  
Dib growled in return, "Yet you can't even eat beans."

Zim let out a shrill yell, "How dare you, filthy mortal! I will show you Irk's superiority!" The alien's words didn't have a tinge of insincerity, instead it seemed more like a promise.

He began to wonder about it even more when he was hoisted up by a metal leg that spiralled out from Zim's Pak. Dib let out a defiant yell, but he was already on the Irken's back. Confusion and curiosity nagging past the pain in his ankle that became all the more apparent with the action.

"Zim! What the hell?!" He yelled, forced to wrap his arms around the other to keep himself from falling and injuring himself worse. Especially since the acid could still be corrosive.  
The alien only huffed and rose along with Dib, his metal spider legs digging into the mud and grass easily as they wound around nasty acid puddles towards the town.

The biggest concern was Zim's Pak. Dib was beyond confused that his enemy would let him literally cling onto his weakest point. Then again, if the Pak goes, so do the legs. Then they would both take a harsh tumble.

No one was out at this time, and Zim clearly knew this as he broadly showed his true form on the street, getting closer and closer to his own house by the minute. Dib was fearing the worst at this point. He couldn't do much.

The legs punctured the doorframe to get in, and he was sure to duck his head. Gir was in the kitchen humming, oblivious to his master and their guest.

Something jabbed into his shirt at the collar, and he was ungraciously thrown onto the couch by another of the silvery appendages. Dib let out an obvious yelp, curling in on himself a bit to try and stop the pain that shot through him momentarily. "Z-Zim what-"

"Computer. Scan The Dib." The legs retracted back into the small shell, Zim facing his tv with a soldier-like stance. A small arm-like tendril of wires appeared for a moment, flashing a bright blue light before reeling back into the monitor.  
"Scan complete. Signs of strain on his ankle and heel. Diagnosis complete; a sprained ankle. Treatment; time and restrained usage of the ankle." It's robotic voice retorted, as if it was obvious information.

Zim finally turned to look at Dib, "Be amazed, human-maggot. Zim's technology scanned and diagnosed you on the spot. Unlike your 'doctors'."  
Overall, Dib was impressed. They made it to town in record time, and his computers medical system was brilliant.

"Zim! You could save so many people with this technology! Just a quick scan and they'd know exactly what to do! You're computer is amazing!" He lit up, giving an excited grin to the Irken as he thought of the possibilities modern medicine could have with this.

Zim's antennae lowered down to be flat against his head, his menacing stance stuttered as he held a look of astonishment. "What?"  
"You could help people! With this, people in the hospitals can get their jobs done faster and more people get the assistance they need when they need it! You could help people, Zim!"

Then the reality crashed into him and almost left him with whiplash. Right, Zim wanted to dominate Earth, not save it. The idea that Dib would even have such an idea was ludicrous. Yet, Zim looked perplexed and...flustered.

"Zim...does not want to help you filthy humans." His voice was quiet and slow, however, and Dib knew what it was. It was the act he showed to kids at High Skool. It's lying. No way.  
"You've been here for years. You must like something about it. Have you never thought about that? That you don't need to conquer it?" It was genuine. Only now had Dib realized that this alien might not be the same one that landed. That he knew more now, just as Dib does.

Zim narrowed his eyes, taking a step away from the crippled human before him. "What...is this? What trap have you prepared for me?"  
"I- nothing. Honestly." Dib gave him a small frown. He thought they were getting somewhere.

The other's magenta orbs searched the human for any trace of a lie, but Dib wasn't the type to lie to Zim. Everyone else, sure, but he was always bluntly honest with the alien. Zim liked that.  
"Is there really nothing you enjoy here?" Dib held a soft heartbroken frown, and it was a piercing arrow to Zim's well-being. He hated that look.

The question, though. How should he answer? There are so many things he enjoys. Even more that he loves. From the vast oceans to the complex animals that not even humans know fully about. Zim loved the plants changing throughout the seasons, that there even were seasons. He remembers all their lessons in Skool, and how much he loves human culture and the colours in everything. Most of all, he loved Dib. Yet, there was still the voice programmed into his Pak, urging him to complete his mission. Telling him love was for broken Irkens.

Maybe it was okay to be broken for once.

Antenna flat against his head, he softened, "I enjoy...many things." It felt like he had betrayed himself as soon as the words left his mouth.  
Dib lit up, clearly approving. "So you see what I mean? That there's things here to protect?" For once, the human had a point too.

"...Maybe. What of it?" He couldn't understand the humans change in attitude towards him.  
"Zim, we could ally. This- we could stop fighting!" Dib shifted on the couch, looking hopefully towards him. "Maybe even...friends."

Zim was tired of the whirring in his Pak, so he decided that he didn’t need to think so hard about the future. Instead, he thought about right now. The human he loved was offering him a partnership of sorts. A real chance to put everything aside between them and start anew. Right now, in this moment, he would be a fool to pass this opportunity up, and he wasn't trained to be a fool on Irk.

With long strides, he was in front of the human, offering his hand to confirm the agreement. They shook, and their fates were sealed. Who knows what they just awakened with this agreement?


	2. No Words Needed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dib and Zim show each other what they feel without words in different parts of their lives.

Maybe it was the way the rain slid off the rooftops, or how the sound was white noise to the plant life living off it. Either way, in that moment, Dib was completely aware of his actions.

The majority of him hoped he was drunk, high off his wits, but every step was accounted for, nothing was amiss with him. When he pulled out his umbrella and offered it to Zim, he was alive in his body. He knew exactly what he was doing.

His hands were steady, a frown making its appearance. "Take it, Zim. You've been here for an hour."  
"...So have you, Dib-stink." The usually loud alien was quiet, eyes narrowed in suspicion.  
"That's different; I had detention." He sighed, still holding the umbrella out.

Zim took him in, scanning him for any weapons or hints of malice. "And what will you do? Take it from me just as I walk into the rain and away from cover? Zim is not so easily fooled, human."  
Dib ran a hand through his hair, the arm holding the umbrella going limp slightly. "The rain isn't supposed to go until tomorrow, Zim. Either you take the umbrella or you walk through it. Your choice."

That made the alien look conflicted, eyes darting between the pouring rain and his nemesis. Eventually, he seemed to take on a look of defeat and annoyance, "Fine. Hand it over."

Dib smiled and happily gave it to him, Zim fiddling with it before snapping it open. The only problem? He did it the wrong way, and the top shot into his face. Zim let out a startled yell, somewhat betrayed.  
"I knew it! You were planning this all along!" He rubbed his cheek, snarling.

Dib couldn't help but laugh, "Oh my god- Zim, no. Here-" He moved closer, turning the umbrella the right way. Hands over Zim's, he pressed the button again. This time it opened properly, and Zim had gotten a hue to his cheeks. Mortified and flustered, he huffed, about to walk home and get out of there as soon as possible.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Zim could hear the smile in Dib's voice as he said that, and he tried not to be annoyed by it as he started to hear the rain pelt against the fabric.

-•-

Zim was panting, blood that was alien to anyone but an Irken slipped from his mouth. It left pink splotches dotting the floor as his pak legs helped him to dodge Dib's oncoming punch.

One leg shot forward, meaning to push Dib away a step or two. The alien hadn't realized, however, that Dib was closer than expected.

It knocked Dib back further than he had wanted, with unneeded force. The humans body hit the cement wall with a hard thump and a pained cry. Zim's eyes widened, and his pak legs retreated back inside as he ran over to the human who now lay gasping for breathe. "Dib-worm!"

Zim helped him sit up against the wall, checking his head for wounds.  
"What-" Dib wheezed, still winded, "-makes you suddenly so worried about me, Space-boy?"

"Zim's greatest fight will not end in a sewer! Victory shall be mine in a glorious fashion! It will be a holiday on Irk not shameful memory!" Zim growled, deciding that Dib was fine and straightening back up with his arms crossed.  
Dib rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. You always fail anyways."

Zim snarled, turning on his heel and began walking towards the other end of the tunnel. "Whatever, earth-smeet."

-•-

Dib was beginning to realize something. Over all his years in class with Zim, after all his fights, he had never been too severely hurt. There were near-death experiences, but he always escaped barely scathed. At first, it was chalked up to coincidence, then Dib thought it was Zim's stupidity. Finally, he came to the truth, the alien didn't want him to die.

He spent weeks churning the thought through his head, all the gears trying to click together to explain it. There was no evidence, but Dib knew it was true. So, he began to pay more attention. He watched Zim for more than just plans. He watched him for emotions. For any sense of empathy. Dib started to act kinder, his confusion only growing when Zim's plans started to lack firepower as well.

He understood. It took so long, but finally he saw the real Zim. The one he had always refused to believe was there in the name of saving Earth.

The alien was sobbing, choking on his words as he couldn't understand how his Tallests could betray him. Zim couldn't grasp the fact that they banished him to Earth, that this was the respect he got for trying his best.

He was so small- fragile and shaken to the core. So, Dib bent down and wrapped his enemy in a hug. Zim was too heartbroken to really push him away, instead clinging to the comfort. "I just want to be loved. Why?! Why won't they- why don't they believe in me...?" His voice was cracked and raspy from crying, a broken call.  
Dib pulled Zim onto his lap, holding him close and gently petting him to soothe him, "It's okay. It's going to be okay. I'm here."

Zim clung to Dib like he was the only thing keeping him afloat. His sniffles began to die down, but Dib continued to mumble sweet comforting words that warmed the cold tears that fell from the Irken.

They stayed like that for a long while, the recently-learned defect listening to his past enemy's heartbeat, arms hung loosely around the other. They were safe there.

"Hey, you okay?" Dib finally spoke up, soft.  
Zim nodded meekly, "...You helped Zim."  
"Of course. No one deserves what they did to you."

"I am a defect. I do deserve it." Zim's words felt sour on his tongue. He preferred sweet things.  
"No- No, Zim. Look at me. I'm your enemy! You could've killed me and the whole world countless times. You're brilliant. You're easily the smartest person I know and my Dad's a famous scientist, okay?" Zim looked into his eyes for a trace of deceit. Eyes empty of tears, he instead took the chance to show his thanks in a different way.

Looking into Dib's eyes, he leaned forward, catching the teens mouth in a soft kiss. It stung the Irken's lips but he was able to ignore it. He just wanted to show this human exactly how much Earth and it's protector truly meant to him.


End file.
